The Saskatchewan Party held their Prince Albert Northcote nomination on Saturday at the Prince Albert Multicultural Society.

Jurgens, the current MLA for Prince Albert Northcote, ran uncontested, becoming the SaskParty candidate for the next election.

“The first time I got nominated, I was more in a daze because it was a contested nomination,” Jurgens said. “This one, I have more time to be thankful and appreciate all the work people put in to standing up for Prince Albert Northcote and helping me succeed as an MLA.”

During the nomination meeting, Jurgens and her husband and campaign manager Al shared stories about her first campaign to become the Prince Albert Northcote candidate.

Al said Jurgens is not just an MLA, but a mother of three and soon to be a grandmother of three as well and has an honours degree in psychology, a nutrition degree and a masters of business admin.

Jurgens is a dedicated and hard working person, who continued to work as a dietician for the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region leading up to the last election, Al said.

“I asked her, when she decided to run for nomination the first time four years ago, I said, ‘Why do you want to run for nomination?’ She answered me, ‘Because there is so much more I could do if I was a politician,’” Al said.

Throughout the nomination, Jurgens worked to get supporters, who have continued to be by her side during her run as MLA.

“She worked very hard to get people signed up and nomination night … she won by one -- one vote,” Al said. “If someone tells you your vote doesn’t count, it counts.”

Once she was voted in as candidate, Jurgens was also dedicated to her campaign, going out to knock on doors, even when the weather didn’t agree. She was determined to become MLA.

“There was never a doubt in her mind from the day she was nominated that with proper work and good friends help” she would be MLA, Al said.

“Prince Albert Northcote was an NDP seat for 25 years,” Jurgens said. “Not only that, it was thought to be a very economically disadvantaged seat.”

She shared her vision with the constituents, premier and other MLAs, which helped her get the support she needed in the election.

The job of MLA has been a great experience for Jurgens, Al said.

One Saturday, shortly after being elected, Jurgens was at four events in one day, attending everything from an event for underprivileged people to an event celebrating a judge being sworn in.

“She got home and I asked her which one she liked the most,” Al said. “She said, ‘All of them.’ At that point I told her, ‘Now you are deserving to be an MLA.’”

Although this nomination process was uncontested, Jurgens did not know and got the support of all the SaskParty members in the riding -- although she only needed 20 signatures on the form, she had 30, Al said.

“It is very exciting and people are so kind to me in Prince Albert,” Jurgens said. “They share with me all their hopes, their fears, their dreams, their excitements and once in a while things we should be doing differently. That is both rewarding and exciting because that is what keeps our province moving forward.”

Jurgens appreciated all the party members at the meeting and those who have supported her throughout the years.

“I am so honoured to be representing you and it is a very humbling moment to know there are so many people that want to support you,” Jurgens said. “There really are no words to express my deep appreciation or gratitude, so I’ll just say thank you.”

When she is asked why she doesn’t more frequently share her education with others, Jurgens said, “people do not care how much you know until they know how much you are. That has been my motto, because I care.”

Many people have also been surprised her husband is her campaign manager.

“Having a husband or a spouse as your campaign manager puts an incredible dynamic into play because as a campaign manager there are certain things that need to be done,” Jurgens said. “As a spouse, we may not want to appreciate or listen to their wise counsel.

“We have 40 years under our belt, so we know each other pretty well and he’s been both my biggest supporter and strongest critic so I couldn’t be more blessed or pleased that he is going to continue in that aspect,” she added.

Since the last election, Jurgens said she is excited she accomplished so much.

“I mentioned how I am starting to tick off the issues that are important to the people in Prince Albert Northcote, so we approached the hub and core with funding and we continue to do that,” Jurgens said. “I am so proud that our community took the lead because the hub and core is an initiative that was unheard of in all of North America and we, our community, took it forward and created the first hub and core.”

She was also part of the push to have the Victoria Hospital rejuvenated.

“I couldn’t be more pleased or more excited and I want to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues for agreeing that we need this hospital rejuvenated,” Jurgens said.

She is looking forward to the next election.

“The hard work is always going to be there but the fun that you have by listening to other people, by working with people who are pulling in the same direction, that is fun and I can bring that forward even stronger when I recruit more volunteers.”